Together, the pair swam more than 66,000 lengths of the pool at their Casebrook home in Christchurch and raised almost $15,000 so far for the Breast Cancer Foundation.
The challenge began last year with swimming just one length, increasing by one each day until they reached 365 lengths on Sunday.
“Relieved is probably the first word that comes to mind,” Newsome said when asked how he felt at the end of a year’s work.
“Pretty stoked, but definitely relieved for sure.”
The final day was a celebration, with family and friends cheering them on, some even jumping in to help with the last laps while others fired up the barbecue.
“It was really nice having a lot of people supporting (us),” Newsome said.
“Put on a big barbecue and finished off the lengths, it was really good.”
Their fundraiser, dubbed ‘Breaststroke 4 Breast Cancer,’ initially aimed to raise $10,000, a goal they far surpassed.
“I thought 10 grand might have been too far out of reach, but then I thought – aim for the stars, why not?” Newsome said.
Both swimmers have family friends affected by breast cancer, making the cause especially meaningful.
Newsome is planning to put his feet up after a year’s hard work.
“We’ll see what happens in the future. We can keep using the pool, but at least we can pick our days now.”
- Visit givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/breaststroke4breastcancer to donate
